Warner Bros. has toyed around with the idea of doing a Robotech film for a long time, but never really got anywhere. Now, Sony has taken over the reigns, and plans to move quickly to start up what they hope to be a successful film franchise. Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton are producing (they produced 300) and Michael Gordon is writing the script (he previously wrote G.I. Joe and… 300 too). As anime fans might know, there’s quite the history between Harmony Gold (the company that licensed the popular anime series Macross and re-edited it into Robotech) and the fanbase. However, my main concern is if the film can be any good… Read more…

Wondered what happened to that live-action Robotech we were supposed to get? Or perhaps you just forgot about it entirely. I know I did – and it has been in development since 2007. So who knows if we’ll ever see it in theaters, but we’re one step closer now: Warner Bros. has chosen a director for the film. Nic Mathieu is a popular commercial director and this will be his first feature film, so good luck, buddy! Perhaps Warner saw the oncoming Pacific Rim and are preparing for a wave of giant robot films? Read more…

For the 30th anniversary of Macross this year, what better way to celebrate than with a life-size, 1/1 scale VF-25 Valkyrie? Yup, that’s right – and it looks amazing too, as if could actually lift off from that room. This elaborate model is on show in Ikebukuro, Tokyo till May 6th, and then in Nagoya June 1st to 3rd, along with the rest of a huge Macross exhibit. Full-size statues of Lynn Minmay, Sheryl Nome, and Ranka Lee are also featured. You can get your photo taken in the hand of the Valkyrie, but sadly I don’t believe you can sit in the cockpit. Still, it’s an impressive model and the exhibit seems packed with content! Read more…

Another creative giant has passed away: Noboru Ishiguro. He was 73. The famed director has had his hands in much of the beloved anime of the 70s, 80s, and beyond: Space Battleship Yamato, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Do You Remember Love?, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Megazone 23, and recently, Tytania. This is only his most well-known work – he’s had a lot of influence in other shows as well, as his studio, Artland, animated shows such as Mushi-shi and Demon King Daimao. Truly, he was one of the greats, and he will be missed. Read more…

If you’re a fan of giant robot anime, this trailer might make you wet your pants. It features footage from 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei, a PSP game that features characters and mechs from practically every giant robot series to grace Japanese airwaves is like an otaku’s dream come true. Unfortunately, despite having developed a countless number of these Super Robot War titles over the years, not a single one has been localized outside of Japan. Why? The trailer speaks for itself, check out the list of copyrights at the end. Now imagine the nightmare of trying to secure those rights for an international release. It’s a shame, but who knows, maybe it’ll be a possibility someday… maybe… probably not.

This Lego Cuusoo project has been around for awhile, but has remained a bit of a hidden gem. Cuusoo user MaxVF1 threw together these amazing VF-1 Valkyries — or Veritechs depending on your preference — in hopes of convincing Lego to license them for retail. As you can see from the video above, they’re pretty easy to snap together and make pretty good display models. They even let you shift between gear-walk, battloid, and fighter modes with ease. The problem, at least from Lego’s standpoint, is that they appear a bit fragile. Of course, that issue alone is just one of many hurdles to overcome.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Robotech, so much so that I’ve owned several iterations of the show since it went off the air so many years ago — one of which happened to be Super Dimension Fortress Macross. For those of you who may not know, it was one of the original three series used to create Robotech for syndication here in America. However — unlike Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA —Macross became a hit, spawning numerous movies, OVAs, and sequels. With only a few exceptions, the legal situation surrounding the Macross license has pretty much prevented the series from being licensed for distribution in North America, and as such, any related works have also met a similar fate — such is the case with the upcoming PS3 title Macross Trial Frontier.

I don’t want to date myself too badly, but I had the pleasure of seeing Macross before it was Robotech and the one thing that I loved about the show right away was the mecha design. And apparently I’m not the only one who felt that way — shown here is a Lego recreation of the Valkyrie VF-1S by the talented Eric Druon who goes by the name BaronSat. His Robotech as Lego tribute gallery is here — and his beautiful website is here. I personally think that it’s amazing that a fictional fighter robot which was designed by the talented folks at Studio Nue in 1982 would inspire someone to tackle this tribute 28 years later — which is all the more amazing considering that the show was originally set in the futuristic year of 2009. Read more…

Yes I know James Cameron will make a billion dollars with Avatar. But you know what Cameron will never know how to do? Create a damn high quality giant robot that kids will want to buy thirty years from now! Shown above is the reason why: The Avatar AMP Suit (shown above) looks like a left over prop from the film Aliens: Read more…

A line of Lucky Star toys with a Macross theme (that’s Robotech for you American fanboys) is due to hit stores in Akihabara on September 26th. This photo series shows a preview of these goodies which are put out by Banpresto and will be awarded on some sort of lottery system: Read more…

It’s starting to look like there is a very good chance for Hollywood to produce a Robotech film, although the project can still get shot down. After the Speed Racer film I have mixed feelings as to if Hollywood can get the film right, although on the flip side many fanboys seemed happy with the Transformers films. To me it’s not a question of special effects which Hollywood can do well, but if they can make the story and casting work: Read more…